Notes / Commercial Description:
Have you read the description for the regular Crooked Tree yet? Well this beer is almost the same just double the flavor and alcohol. We actually took the Crooked Tree recipe and doubled all of the ingredients except the water, just the way a DOUBLE should be made. Big hops balanced with tons of malt give this beer a huge body. Although this beer is as cool as "The Fonz" when first purchased, it gets really mellow and smooth with some age. After a year or two stored in a cool dark place you'll notice the heavy caramel and malt flavors are trying to sneak past the hops. This beer is hugely delicious so it will need your undivided attention (the chores can wait....trust us).

Reviews by HopLuva:

More User Reviews:

Looks as beautiful as all of the pics I have seen. A big reason I grabbed a 4 pack at $16. A deep, hazy ruby orange with a slightly off-white head.

Smells of strong alcohol, sweet caramel malts, pine and floral hops all in that order to me.

The alcohol really comes through in the taste. I am shocked by the reviews that say it is hidden. I would swear it was 15%+. Also rock candy like sugars, some citrus hops that I didnt notice in the aroma, still some piney flavor along with bitterness and nostril burn toward the end.

Nice thicker bodied beer with a slick resin feel, but finishes very harsh. Average carbonation.

Overall, most of the good qualities of this beer are squashed by boozyness. I can probably list 2 dozen beers that are at this ABV or higher that don't taste/feel anywhere close. It may be one of few ipas that will improve with cellaring. I have 3 more, so I am going to find out.

just amazed to see this one rated as highly as it is. so average to me, and in the big ipa realm, it just doesnt stack up. its a malt bomb, sugary and strong for no reason, its more of an imperial amber than it is an ipa, balanced out the wrong way by a big sugary malt build, and not hoppy enough to overcome that, it just seems sloppy, and almost cheap and half assed for a brewery that has help my attention now for a little while. its hazy and thick, and although very well carbonated and creamy feeling, its not as dynamic as it should be, muted in hop nose and taste, and sweet to a level that limits its drinkabilty to half a beer. the booze is a few percentage points too high, makes no sense and just doesnt fit, and while it doesnt have off flavors and rough edges, its a pretty weird beer to trumpet as world class, especially with this many reviews. am i wrong to ask for a dry and more hop driven brew in this category? i think not. not bad at all, but as an imperial ipa its pretty woeful. sweet and grainy, strange, unflattering, forgettable.

Here's the closer, the palate killer and perhaps my nightcap. Its one of my favorite styles but it look like Dark Horse is trying to take this style to another level which I like. The bottle is waxed on the top, a strong wax it is so make sure to take care with the sharp blades and such trying to pop this one, I opted for a bit of flame and then cut away the wax. Huge tan foam from a quick cascading session of bubbles form a hard pour. The head retention is surprisingly excellent, some beers with super high alcohol levels tend to loose their head quick but this one doesn't. Clear reddish amber color. Oh yeah, there it is ... the pungent mix of higher alcohols and lots of hop resin in the nose. Thick semi-syrupy body with a long drawn out smoothness and creamy backing. The alcohol is a little hot but not overbearing with more warmth in the back of the mouth and throat with each sip. Maltiness is given a hall pass upfront with a quick running of caramel and graham cracker crust but then the hops take over the show. Bitterness spreads far and wide and eventually engulfs all taste as I know it. Oddly there is not this devastating sharpness that would have killed the drinkability, not balance but more of knowing when enough is enough. Flavors of blood orange, pineapple, tobacco, grapefruit rind and caramel form in the finish. A bitter finish but some of that malt sweetness does leak from the wall of hop bitterness.

One of the most drinkable and pleasant higher alcohol (12% abv+) Double IPAs that I have tasted ever. I'm loving this hop fix.

Poured from bottle to snifter. Poured dark orange with slightly carmel aroma. Very smooth going down with a great taste not too hoppy.. I cant believe it is 12%! This is by far my favorite beer. The price keeps going up, last year I could get a 4 pack for 16 bucks, this year i cant find it under 19!

L: This beer is so incredibly dark for an IPA. Poured a mild brown color with a thin, half-finger of head on top. Not entirely transparent but a good amount of light comes through the glass.

S: Smells like a malt bomb. The commercial description on this beer claims that it is okay to age this, and I think my current bottle is a couple months past its "best by" date. It's hard to consider this an IPA in its current state.

T: I think most of the hops have faded in the bottle that I have, so I am mostly getting a huge malt presence. Caramel sweetness combines with some smooth, dark liquor flavors. Not what you would expect from an IPA, but maybe from one that is several months old with this kind of alcohol content.

F: Very thick and molasses-like for an IPA. At 12% and with some age, this beer is hitting hard. I can feel the alcohol burn on the way down. Like the commercial description says, however, it is quite mellow. It goes down smoothly as you can tell some of the initial flavors have evened out.

O: I would be interested in trying this beer fresh to compare it to my current bottle. This beer is drinking more like a scotch ale or a barleywine at the moment.

Wow, I understand other people's reservations when it comes to this beer. It's mike darker than expected, higher %, and has sediment unlike most dipas. However they went about this the right way. It's heavy and delicate at the same time. Perfectly done dipa in my opinion. Other brewers take note.

On tap at the brewery while walking through the tour. Excellent beer. Wow could this easily sneak up on you at over 13% ABV. Sure doesn't taste like that. Love the cloudy body of this beer. Aroma is very hoppy. Taste is hop forward. Nice and citrusy flavors. Great malt backbone. Decided to visit Dark Horse on my way up to the KBS release in Grand Rapids and was very pleasantly surprised. Great beers, starting with this one.

A: This poured a nearly opaque light copper with a little white head.
S: It smelled like sugary figs and candied cherries and faint copper and butter scotch.
T: It tasted like candied apricots and herbal hops, with some artificial strawberry and unripe pineapple. It had a somewhat clean sugary aftertaste with lingering bitterness.
M: It was thick and chewy with a little carbonation. Very full body.
D: This was not nearly as good as I expected. The scent and taste were super sweet with little bitterness. The body was over the top, and the finish was a little harsh. So it wasn't easy to drink. I'm not impressed at all.

Poured a deep hazed burnt orange with a very nice established one finger head that really stuck to the glass leaving a sheet of lace behind stupid me I poured kinda harsh letting all the chunks and floaties swirl about in the finish pour.Wholy shneikies is this thing fresh smelling like freshly and I means freshly mown grassover top pine neadles with a touch of hay just awesome.Quite dry on the palate not much residual sweetness that comes from alot of dipa's big and herbal with damp leaves that come to mind the malt base is more like that of cracker malt quite dry.Thick,resiny and chewey with a more noticable apricot-like flavor in the finish as I drink more.This has alot of complexities going on the alcohol comes as you drink more providing sweetness,a fine offering.Pure and simple its hop juice.

Appearance: Well, this is... interesting. A big chunk of... something... just poured into my beverage and broke apart into sediment, which seems to be settling at the bottom of my glass. Poured a deep orange with about a finger-width of a white foam that's leaving a little lacing along the side. Lots and lots of bubbles in this one.

Smell: Lots of pine-sol in this one. A small bit of grapefruitish notes, too.

Taste: After watching that chunk of whatever come out of the bottle and into my glass, I'm gonna let the foam subside first. I'd like to see if there's anything still floating on top, you know? **5 minutes later** Yeah, this is nice. Pine and citrusy. Some malt notes. Don't taste the alcohol.

Mouthfeel: Not the heaviest double IPA I've ever had. A little creamy and bitter on the finish, but not a bad thing necessarily.

Overall: Pretty good. Still a little puzzled about the big chunk o' stuff that poured out. I reserve the right to revise this if I feel ill from any particles later.

A: Wow, this is a lot darker than I thought it would be. The color is an attractive ruby-red and copper. It reminds me more of barleywines and some quads more so than what I would expect a double IPA to look like. The 1/2 finger head quickly fades and leaves a dark khaki film on top. The lacing is nice and is a continuous fluid swirl round my snifter.

S: I'm guessing this is not at its peak of freshness and is probably 3+ months after its bottling date. That said, I am getting a lot of sweet malt aromas and not so many hop smells. Sweet raisin and fig jumps out at first sniff, as well as other dark fruits- plum, pomegranate, etc. Some sweeter citrus in the form of tangerine and blood oranges are also available. Brown sugar and donut glaze and a hearty grain breadiness grip my palate, as well.

T: Thankfully, I receive a decent dose of piney hops to balance out the hefty maltbill that I detected in the smell. A good citrus and pine bitterness sizzles on the sides of my tongue as the sweet malt flavors soak into the rest of my mouth. The yeast lends a chewy breadiness of whole grains to round out the taste. Surprisingly, the alcohol content is not overpowering. This is 13.6%, right?

M: As I ponder the MF, I realize that the a.b.v. does stand up and say hello. The bitterness on the sides of my tongue carries some boozy heat with it, but this only enhances the feel. A pretty full feel for the style and I do enjoy that hop/booze sizzle.

D: I would have another, and would love to imbibe one at the peak of its freshness to see if the hops are more present. However, I am nearing the end of an hour session with this beer and the a.b.v. is starting to get to me. Overall, a nice double IPA.

Review #666. 12oz green wax topped bottle with a creepy wizard tree on the label. After taking a good few minutes to pry through the wax, the cap comes off and the beer pours into my glass a deep, somewhat hazy amber orange...quite dark. A small bubbly head on top but I didn't expect much more given the abv. Aromas are forceful with a blast of dense caramel, boozy dark fruits and a touch of brown sugar. Huge hop oils with big citric aromas. Grapefruit and pine needles. Freakin intense!

First sip brings a rush of deep caramel maltiness that carries a nice sweetness as well. Notes of alcohol, dark fruits and a touch of brown sugar. This flows into a blast of hoppiness. Oily, citric grapefruity flavors along with big dripping pine sap. This brew is freakin dense and really does pack a punch. The bitterness on the finish works nicely against the sweetness. Good malt and hop balance here for such a big brew. Yummy stuff!

Mouthfeel is big and viscous, with a mellow smoothed out carbonation. It packs a punch but still ends up going down pretty smooth. A huge brew that I'm happy to have tried. I hope to grab another 4 pack of this next time I see it. I dunno if I could drink more than one in a sitting but it's sure a tasty treat every now and again. Yet another tasty brew from Dark Horse.

Nice green wax coating on the cap, one wax running trails down to the label...a nice touch...

Poured with a little glug action, came out a caramel color. Some haze and lots of floaties. I didn't mean to fully dump the yeast into my glass, but oh well. Actually had some off-white head on it which clings slightly to my glass.

Flavor lacks complexity in my opinion, but has some strong points which makes this receive a good rating. A strong malt background really is working its ass off to balance the bitterness in this and actually comes across well balanced. Some yeast roll malts, not the typical caramel sweet, is first noticed. Citrus rind and an earthy, peat hop profile blends fairly well. Thats about it though. Finish is definately bitter, but enjoyable in that burn the back of your throat kind of way. Alcohol...there is no hint AT ALL of what is actually in here and this is where the taste rating comes up a bit. Simple overall flavor profile but well done.

Full bodied here. This is probably from all of the malts needed to balance the bitterness, but it makes for a filling DIPA. Drinkability is fairly good. I'd like to see some more hop flavors come through to bump up the complexity and accompany the bitterness. I will say the alcohol presence, or lack thereof, is not bringing the drinkability down. This is a heavy hitter of a beer...I'm really feelin' this one...